Repeat Felon Sentenced for Possessing Child Pornography and Ammunition

TULSA, Okla. – A Salina man was sentenced today for Possession of Child Pornography and being a Felon in Possession of Ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill sentenced Michael Allen Dean, 40, to 120 months imprisonment, followed by 15 years of supervised release. Upon his release, Dean will also be required to register as a sex offender. Judge Hill further ordered Dean to pay $45,000 in restitution. That money goes directly to the victims identified in the child sexual abuse material that Dean possessed.

In May 2023, a social media application reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that child sexual abuse material was uploaded. The investigation revealed that the IP address and phone number associated with the social media account were linked to Dean. Based on the cybertip, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Dean’s home and cellphone.

When agents searched Dean’s home, they found several rounds of ammunition. After searching Dean’s cellphone, agents found more than 424 videos and 213 images of minor children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Court documents show that some of the minors were under 12 years old, including material that showed toddlers and infants being sexually abused.

According to court documents, Dean was convicted in 2011 in state court for possessing child pornography. He was sentenced to a 10-year suspended sentence and spent 60 days in jail.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is the nation’s centralized reporting system for suspected child sexual exploitation. Because of the growth of technology, Child Sexual Abuse Material images and videos can be found in any online realm, causing the children who were initially sexually abused to be revictimized, over and over, with each share.

NCMEC reports that its CyberTipline has received more than 195 million reports related to Child Sexual Abuse Material, commonly referred to as CSAM. NCMEC’s Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed more than 425 million images and videos and identified more than 30,000 victims. 

Dean will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

Homeland Security Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Mayes County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cherokee National Marshal Service assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Wright prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.